Paymon’s Chicken Noodle Soup

Well two out of three kids are off to school today! The professor has a fever, so he’s on the couch catching up his favorite dinosaur shows that his brother and sister hate to watch. It’s no fun being sick. Middle Child wanted to stay home and cried for 45 minutes today about missing me too much at school, about how he wants to stay home, and “OH! My tummy hurts!” Come one! First grade isn’t THAT bad! Only little one, the Princess, was excited this morning for school. And yes, it’s preschool. I’d be excited, too! She has a lot of fun for those three hours.

So now that one kid is sick, I’m hitting the kitchen to make some good, nutritious homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. This is actually Middle Child’s favorite soup. His name is Paymon, is that is why I’ve named this Paymon’s Chicken Noodle Soup with Lemon. In fact, Middle Child will eat this soup every day, whether he’s sick or not. I shouldn’t complain about Paymon’s love for soup. He eats his vegetables when it’s in a soup. And making it from scratch isn’t that much work.

If you’ve been reading my blog, then you know how much I like to buy whole chickens. When marked down to 69¢/pound you can really feed you family well and on a budget. And when you are down to the carcass, don’t throw it out! Put in a pot, throw in some chunks of carrots, celery, herbs and anything else you have to make homemade chicken stock.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup with Lemon

Author:

Laura Bashar

No can compete with Mom's homemade chicken noodle soup. And now with lemon, it's even better than you remember! Recipe by Laura Bashar of Family Spice

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs, boneless

1/2 tsp onion powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp lemon pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 cup carrots, chopped

2 cup celery, chopped

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1/8 tsp black pepper, ground

3 qt chicken broth

1/2 cup linguini, broken into 1-inch pieces

Directions:

Rinse with water and pat dry with paper towels:

4 chicken thighs, boneless

Season both sides of the thighs with:

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp lemon pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Heat a large stock pot on medium-high and add:

1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

Place chicken in hot pot and brown each side, approximately 5 minutes each side.

Deglaze pot with:

1/3 cup lemon juice

After 5 minutes remove chicken and reserve.

Add to the hot pot:

2 cup carrots , chopped

2 cup celery , chopped

1/4 cup onion , chopped

Scrape bits of browned chicken into soup until vegetables start to soften then season with:

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper, ground

Pour in:

3 qt chicken broth

Cover pot, bring soup to boil and add:

1/2 cup linguini , broken into 1-inch pieces

When chicken is cool enough to touch, chop or shred into bite-sized pieces.

I don’t always do this, especially with a time crunch, so I cheat sometimes and use pre-made stock. Gotta love Costco for that, especially now that you can get Organic Chicken Broth in large cartons for a few bucks. Either way, soup is always on in our house.

Each time I make this soup, it’s a little different. You can fix it up with your favorite vegetables, too. We have the classic carrots and celery variety. Sometimes I throw in spinach in small pieces and tell the kids it’s herbs that make the soup taste good. They are used to that. Other times we put in white Cannelini beans, chopped cauliflower and zucchini. Swap out the noodles for potatoes, orzo, or matzoballs. Anything goes with soup!

But the other main ingredient that makes into every pot of soup I make is lemon juice. My husband and my kids love the tang of lemon juice. And in chicken noodle soup, it’s a definite must.